Chisinau is inclined to the idea of freezing the Transnistrian conflict for another few decades and not demanding annexation “at any cost.”
Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Oleg Serebrian stated this in an interview with jurnal.md, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Germany, a very strong state, waited 40 years for reunification. Cyprus has been waiting for more than 50 years. China also faces a problem somewhat similar to ours. As you can see, we are not in a unique situation, and those who blame us for the fact that the conflict has not been resolved in 30 years should look around.
To be clear, we want the Transnistrian region to be part of the Republic of Moldova, but not at any cost. The price cannot be the independence of the Republic of Moldova,” Serebrian said.
At the same time, he believes that “the path to resolving the Transnistrian conflict, of course, peacefully, will become clear after the end of hostilities in Ukraine; it is possible that certain opportunities may be created to find a political solution to the Transnistrian dossier.”
“We cannot have Ukraine and Russia at the negotiating table as mediators, given that these countries are at war. And avoiding their presence would be dishonest. For us, Ukraine’s participation is very important, because the Transnistrian dossier is a dossier of regional security and makes the security of the entire region vulnerable: both Romania and Ukraine,” the Deputy Prime Minister noted.
He did not agree that Tiraspol was blackmailing Chisinau regarding the operation of the Rybnitsa metallurgical plant or electricity supplies.
“The use of the word blackmail in this case is inappropriate. Because in the same way they can be blackmailed by Chisinau, because we are the only buyer of electricity there. If we don’t buy, then who will? But they should work, right? We come back to interdependence, and I don't know who is more dependent on whom in the case of electricity.
Yes, the price for electricity that Tiraspol offers us is incomparably more interesting than in other markets, but at some point a situation may arise when we say that this is the price of dignity and we prefer to buy twice as much, but from the other side.” , - said Serebryan.